Sun Kil Moon's Kozelek publishes comprehensive lyrics book
For the Mark Kozelek fan who owns everything from Down Colorful Hill to Tiny Cities (and has Sun Kil Moon’s April on pre-order), Caldo Verde Records offers yet another way to appreciate this modern-day bard—Nights of Passed Over, a hardcover book that will encompass Kozelek’s lyrics from the Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon and his solo work. Even for those who don’t possess the expanse of Kozelek’s musical catalog, this comprehensive book of his lyrics would make a fantastic introduction. Nights of Passed Over was originally released in Portugal in 2002, and first-run editions are somewhat hard to come... read more
Pitchfork Music Festival posts initial lineup
If you think about it, a battle of the bands is really passé; who wants to watch one band at a time when you could hop between four? What’s cool these days is a rumble between a group of bands, maybe over several days, with sets running concurrently. Lo and behold, the summer music festival battle royale—Pitchfork, a recent entry into the contender field, recently announced the heavy-hitting headliners for the third annual Pitchfork Music Festival. This year, the Pitchfork Music Festival starts off nostalgic as they team with All Tomorrow’s Parties to host hip-hop legends Public Enemy's performance of... read more
Goldfrapp to tour U.S. and Europe
British duo Goldfrapp will play a handful of U.S. concert dates before kicking off a European tour later this summer. Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory formed Goldfrapp in 1999 and released their debut, Felt Mountain, a year later. The pair has since released three more albums and continues to dabble in multiple musical genres. The duo's unique hybrid of atmospheric electronic music and glam rock caught the ears of marketing teams at Verizon Wireless and Target, who used the songs “Strict Machine,” “Fly Me Away” and “Number One” in national advertising campaigns. Goldfrapp’s latest album, Seventh Tree, was released Feb.... read more
Flaming Lips, Roots, Avetts, more go to Summer Camp
The three-day Summer Camp festival will return to Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Ill., for its eighth year this May. Campin' jammers will reconvene to hear more than 45 bands on four different stages. Notable acts of the fest include bluegrass spectacle The Avett Brothers, the festival fiends of moe. and The New Pornographers, to name but a few. Alongside these multi-nighters, The Flaming Lips and The Roots each plan to play one evening. Tickets for all three days (May 23-25) plus camping cost $140. Related links: SummerCampFestival.com YouTube: The Flaming Lips Preview Paste: The ?uest for Change - On... read more
Manchester Orchestra to tour the U.S. with Say Anything
Manchester Orchestra is not an orchestra. Manchester Orchestra is not from Manchester. The first rule about Manchester Orchestra is you don't talk about Manchester Orchestra. Ahem, our apologies. Manchester Orchestra is actually set to head out on tour with L.A.'s Say Anything, kicking off their road trip March 13 in Hollywood, Calif. The band is still basking in the glow left by I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child, which was originally released in 2006 on Favorite Gentlemen, then re-released last year on Canvasback. It's the very album that got them on The Late Show With David Letterman: Performance addicts,... read more
Watson Twins release new album on Vanguard, play SXSW
Over the past 50 years, Vanguard Records has represented Doc Watson, Levon Helm, Joan Baez and John Fahey. The imprint is also home to Shawn Mullins, Mindy Smith and Marc Broussard, amongst a host of others. As of June 24, the Watson Twins will join the Vanguard family with the release of their first proper LP, Fire Songs. “Our influences as singers and songwriters are the historic sounds of Vanguard Records, a label steeped in folk, country, jazz and blues,” Chandra and Leigh Watson said in a recent statement. “It just seemed like the perfect fit and we are so... read more
R.E.M. to preview Accelerate on iLike, tour this summer
Alt-rock pioneers R.E.M. will be streaming their new album Accelerate live on social networking application iLike a week ahead of its April 1 release, Billboard.com reports. Faced with a musical landscape where many traditional retailers have seen their sales dwindle as digital music outlets such as iTunes and Rhapsody have risen in popularity, the band’s frontman Michael Stipe told Billboard the band didn’t want to be left behind. “I think you can either go with it or sit back and watch it happen,” he said, “and I would rather be out on the field than in the bleachers.” Accelerate’s 11... read more
Danger Mouse to produce Beck's next LP, forego sleep in 2008
As Paste previously reported, producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse has his sights on producing almost every awesome musical artist out there. To cement his stance, it has just been announced that he will produce experimental rocker Beck’s new album, due out at the end of this year. In the spirit of this new collaboration, here are a few artists suggestions that the man hasn’t (yet) worked with: 1. Bob Dylan – The greatest songwriter of all time with the man who is gunning for the title of the greatest producer ever. Smells like genius cooked in a hot wok with a... read more
Zach Galifianakis stars in Absolut Vodka advertisement
Comedian Zach Galifianakis is the creator and star of a new Absolut Vodka ad, made at the company’s request as part of an ongoing series of artist-focused spots. When Absolut approached Galifianakis about the ad, he agreed on the condition that he could do whatever he wanted with no restrictions. Absolut agreed, and the end result is a textbook example of the comedian’s ridiculously dry sense of humor. Galifianakis asked his friends Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job! to join him in creating the spot, which involves bathrobes, a hot tub and a... read more
White Rabbits join Radiohead's label, schedule many dates
Things seem to be going pretty well for White Rabbits these days. Tonight, they play a benefit for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (tickets are still available here), the theme of which is "Enchanted Forest" (awesome!). They then hit the road, starting with a few SXSW dates, followed by a U.S. stint with Spoon and The Walkmen, followed by some headlining European gigs (see below). Oh yeah, and they signed to TBD Records, which means they're labelmates with Radiohead and Underworld. That's none too shabby company for the still-young band. According to a recent statement,... read more
Vice Records signs Dark Meat, reissues Universal Indians
[Above: Dark Meat's Universal Indians CD-release party in 2006] When Vice interviewed vocalist Jim McHugh of the then-30-something-member Dark Meat family, the magazine challenged him to recall the names of everyone in the psych-rock group, as well as each person’s instrument, hair color and middle name. The frontman somehow managed to avoid an aneurism whilst detailing his frenetic horde, and not quite a year-ish later, Vice has signed the cacophonous collective of Athens, Ga. musicians to its record label. Now down to a mere 17 participants – including members of Elf Power, Of Montreal, We Versus the Shark and Gnarls... read more
Matt & Kim announce SXSW, other dates
After messing with kangaroos in the Australian outback, Matt & Kim will take on SXSW, playing four sets in two days alongside Fuck Buttons and The Breeders. The electro-punk duo/happy couple will also trek through Alaska next month, all while fans eagerly anticipate news about their latest album, due out later this year. March 14 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW Vice Saves Texas - Victory Grill 14 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW IHEARTCOMIX VS Mad Decent Blowout 15 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW Mess With Texas - Waterloo Park 15 - Austin, Texas @ SXSW Todd P / Silent Barn... read more
Listen to Peter Morén’s “Social Competence”
Peter Morén’s highly anticipated solo debut, The Last Tycoon, won’t be released for another month, but the album’s first single, “Social Competence,” is available now exclusively on PasteMagazine.com. Have a listen: embedStationLite("/stationlite/petermoren_socialcompetence.mp3", "'Social Competence'"); Morén is perhaps best known as one third of Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John, who popped up on many Americans’ radar screens last year with their infectious album Writer’s Block. The group has by no means broken up; in fact, PB&J just finished touring with the Besnard Lakes in December. The trio has also been working on an instrumental album. Morén’s solo album will be... read more
Which of SXSW 2007's buzz artists proved worthy of the hype?
South by Southwest happens this week (come by our party if you can), and many new bands will be hoping for a big break at the festival. Which of last year's buzz artists proved worthy of the hype? [1076 votes total] Amy Winehouse (245): 23% Jay Reatard (23): 2% Peter Bjorn and John (170): 16% Sharon Jones (84): 8% Black Lips (62): 6% Paolo Nutini (65): 6% Cold War Kids (216): 20% Lily Allen (80): 7% Girl Talk (71): 7% Other (60): 6% Full Results Comments... read more
AthFest 2008 to be held in late June
As anyone who's lived in the south knows, Georgia in the summertime can be decidedly less than pleasant. Ninety degree heat, compounded with 100 percent humidity, has the uncanny ability to turn even the most conservative individual into a nudist. However, one weekend a summer, the music haven otherwise known as Athens, Ga., gives people far and wide a reason to weather the heat. AthFest, the annual musical extravaganza (which, incidentally, has also featured a petting zoo in past years), will be held this summer from June 18 to 22. For those counting at home, that's five glorious days of... read more
Steven Spielberg to launch paranormal social-network site?
We haven't heard a good ghost story since Nickelodeon retired Are You Afraid of the Dark?, but that might change very soon. Rumor has it that producer Steven Spielberg—who has a bit of extraterrestrial experience under his belt (Casper, Men in Black and War of the Worlds, to name a handful)—is in the midst of developing a social networking site called Ghost Town. The site will be for people to share their paranormal experiences with others who can relate. As one Paste staffer put it, the man who made E.T. is making a site...(dramatic pause)...for people who have encountered E.T.... read more
Phish to receive lifetime honor at Jammy Awards
Come spring, jam band lovers will trek up to the Big Apple to watch The Jammy Awards at Madison Square Garden. This year, Jammy fans will have the privilege of watching Phish accept the Lifetime Achievement Award, which has been awarded in the past to The Grateful Dead, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, and Frank Zappa. This news should thrill Phish phans, many of whom spent days in their cars waiting on Vermont highways to see the band play its final show in 2004. To help New York City get ready for the award show, we've compiled a Top Four Suggested... read more
Krasinski/Rudolph to star in Mendes/Eggers project
Actors John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph have signed on to star in Sam Mendes' latest film, Variety reports. The currently untitled feature was written by A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius author Dave Eggers and his wife, editor/novelist Vendela Vida. Originally titled This Must Be the Place, the film follows an expectant couple on a cross-country search for a place to settle down. Krasinski rose to fame playing nice-guy Jim Halpert on The Office, and has appeared in Jarhead, Dreamgirls and License to Wed. He can next be seen co-starring with George Clooney in the football comedy Leatherheads, which will... read more
Thao Nguyen joins Xiu Xiu for tour
Thao Nguyen has mixed feelings about rock ‘n’ roll tours. “I think you have to be wired for [touring], because it makes no sense. You drive 10 hours, play for 45 minutes, you get back in the car, and you do it again,” Nguyen told Paste in our 4 to Watch spotlight piece on her. But... “At the end of the day, the only reason you do it is because you love those 45 minutes when you get to be on stage,” Nguyen concluded. Fans all across the U.S.A. (and Canada too) will be thanking Nguyen for spreading that love,... read more
Dave Matthews Band announces summer tour
Let’s take a look at the accomplishments of the Dave Matthews Band real quick: One of the biggest record sellers in the '90s and '00s. Check. One of the biggest concert draws of the past two decades, even drawing larger crowds than boy bands and pop princesses. Yup. Extremely loyal to its fan base. Indeed. All this adds up to being one of the biggest bands in the world, so it should come as no surprise that when DMB tours, all its shows sell out. This year, DMB will embark on a vast summer tour across the United States with... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
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Kim Taylor - Days Like this
Gregory Alan Isakov - The Moon Song
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Fanfarlo - I’m A Pilot
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
David Bazan - Hard To Be
Anya Marina - Whatever You Like
